


Burst the Dams and Start Again

by Anonymous



Category: Naruto
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, POV Alternating, Redemption, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:22:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 17,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24601531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Obito doesn't die, instead, he and Kakashi survive their battle. For some reason, however, they both are a little altered.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Obito
Comments: 67
Kudos: 245
Collections: anonymous





	1. Reboot

**Author's Note:**

> Forewarning, this all pure self-indulgence with the loosest kind of plot you can imagine. It really more of a series of moments than anything. Enjoy and if you perhaps have anything you may like to see in this story, say something. I make absolutely no promises, but since this is just a fic I'm playing with basically, I'd be up to hear some suggestions.

When Obito opens his eyes again, he doesn’t see Rin or his parents or any of the hundreds he’s killed. Instead, it’s the sky. White clouds are speckling the blue expanses and smoke and dust make everything a little hazy. He frowns.

Why isn’t he dead?

A moment later, a face he hasn’t seen in decades blocks the sky. A tightness constricts his chest and he squeezes his eyes shut a moment. When he opens them, the face, _Kakashi’s_ childhood face, is still there. Slowly, Obito reaches up and touches it. It’s warm and _feels_ real. It also brings another surprise to his attention. The hand he’s touching the face with… It’s _small_. 

A kid’s hand. 

He pulls it away from Kakashi’s cheek and studies it instead. The hand is just like he remembers it being from before everything went to Hell. “Oh,” he says. Then, refocusing on Kakashi, he asks with the voice of a boy instead of a man, “This… This is real?”

“Yes, I think it is,” replies Kakashi with a voice that brings a cascade of memories. Most of them aren’t so good, but some… Obito would like to experience those ones again.

“Oh,” he replies numbly. 

His ex-teammate’s face disappears from view and Obito realizes he should try to sit up. He manages, with a little guidance from a pair of hands even tinier than his own. When he’s upright with his legs crossed in front of him, Obito surveys the scene. They are in the middle of a crater and the sounds around them are of those of the end of a battle. He’s pretty sure he can hear voices calling for the smaller boy next to him. 

He turns his head and stares at the boy next to him. His expression, which is not hidden by its typical mask, is leery, but not deadly. Obito lowers his gaze slightly to see that Kakashi’s mask hangs loosely around the front of his chest. He starts to reach for it, but the boy leans back, tiny hand rising, kunai clutched in it. 

Obito winces. Well, he deserves that, doesn’t he? Instead of giving up, though, he pushes a sunny smile over his foreign-feeling face and says, “Here, hold still. I’ll… I’ll try and help you with your clothes.” Slowly, the kunai lowers until it rests almost casually on the boy’s knee. Scooting nearer to him, he begins to help Kakashi arrange his clothes a little better on him. When he gets to his mask, he gives it an experimental tug before tearing it in two. Once he has two halves, he ties them tightly together in a knot at the base of the other’s skull. “You’re a lot smaller,” he remarks, almost conversationally.

“You look ten,” replies the boy.

He snorts. “And you look seven.”

There is a bout of silence, before, almost tentatively, Kakashi murmurs, “We were those ages when we were put on a team.”

Now finished with adjusting his clothes, Obito scoots away from the boy and starts to fuss with his own. “Strange,” he says once he’s finished using some wire to tighten the waist of his pants so they don’t slip right off of him.

The boy gives him a dark look. “This isn’t good,” he grumbles.

Now while rolling up his sleeves, he agrees with Kakashi. “No, it’s not.”

“They’ll try to fix this, though,” Kakashi says as the yells for him become clearer and louder.

Obito blinks. “The village?” he asks. “I ‘spect so. You’re one of their best ninjas,” he says, trying to hide the bitterness from his tone. It’s not Kakashi’s fault he’s a good ninja, he just _is_. 

“For you too,” the boy says.

Obito’s lips twist into a facsimile of a smile. “Just to punish me properly, I bet,” he mutters.

“No.”

He rolls his eyes at the stubborn denial. “Yes, Baka-Kashi,” he jeers.

The other’s gaze remains steady and uncomfortably intense as he declares, “I’ll help you make things right. We’ll use this to our advantage and prove you’re sorry and want to fix things.”

“Who said I wanted to do that?” snaps Obito, crossing his arms. Then, as Kakashi continues to look at him with his disconcerting solemnity, he turns his gaze to the dirt beneath him. In a whisper, he says, “I don’t think that’s going to work.”

“It _will_ ,” persists Kakashi with far too much conviction.

He blinks his eyes to clear away the odd, sudden tears. He hasn’t been this quickly moved to them since he was— Obito stops that thought right there. Lifting his gaze, he stares at Kakashi with dry eyes and asks, “When did you get so optimistic?”

The boy inches forward. Finally, when they were just centimeters apart, Kakashi reaches out and places a far too tiny hand on Obito’s cheek. “You’re _it_ , Obito,” he utters in a voice that cracks on ‘it’. “All I have left of then. I’m not going to just let them execute you or worse.”

Obito swallows. When he feels he can speak without bursting into tears, he croaks, “Those sound like defector words.” And, then, he laughs. It is braying and awkward, an attempt to hide how terrified Kakashi’s words have left him.

“Maybe they are,” the other boy replies, voice low.

“Don’t,” Obito says through clenched teeth and melting eyes. “Don’t, not for me.”

Through his blurry vision, he sees a mulishness come to the set of Kakashi’s brows, but before he can argue, one of his students appears at the lip of the crater. “KAKASHI!” they, the blond, Minato-sensei’s son, shouts down to them. Whatever else he is going to say appears to die on his lips as he stares down at the two of them with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Finally, he turns his face back in the direction he came from and yells, “SAKURA! KAKASHI-SENSEI NEEDS YOU!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	2. Settling In

For their second meeting with the Hokage, Obito and Kakashi are finally wearing clothes that _fit_. However, it’s not quite as comforting as he expected it’d be. Obito had felt stupid before in his loose, improvised clothes, but they had also hidden how small he really is. Now, in a pair of shorts, mesh undershirt, and a fitted jacket, he can see how really tiny he is. The colors don’t help, either. Someone (probably Minato’s son) has made sure his jacket is highly visible by being _orange_ of all colors. 

Once, Obito had been for a bit of color, but not like this. He glances out of the corner of his eyes at Kakashi. The even smaller boy is wearing an overly long blue and yellow patterned scarf around his face instead of a mask. Where he’d gotten it, Obito doesn’t know. It hadn’t come in the bag of clothes Kakashi’s friend Tenzo dropped off at his old teammate’s apartment this morning. At least he has it, Obito muses. He is pretty sure Kakashi’s students had “forgotten” to buy him a mask in an attempt to see his face. He almost snickers.

When his students finally do see their sensei's face, they are going to be disappointed by how absolutely normal Kakashi looks.

Obito also starts to imagine the day it happens and being there for it but quickly squashes the daydream down. He isn’t going to be there. Every scenario he can picture where Kakashi loses his mask is a life or death one. Those sorts of situations more often or not occur away from the village. Even if Tsunade has decided to pardon him as a favor to Kakashi and Naruto, it doesn’t mean he is going to be allowed to leave the village ever again. They don't trust him even _in_ Konohagakure to behave.

Abruptly, he stiffens, realizing the Hokage’s eyes are trained on him. Obito can tell he missed something and he feels stupid for it. He hasn’t been this easily distracted since he was a kid. Internally, he flinches at the realization. Maybe this isn’t only a physical change like they initially thought.

After a long minute of just hoping Tsunade would repeat herself instead of making him ask her to, Obito sighs, ready to throw in the towel and admit to his inattentive listening. However, Kakashi saves him from the embarrassment. “Yes, Lady Hokage. We understand Obito will be under a close eye for a long time to come," he proclaims for the both of them.

The kunoichi’s gaze shifts from him to Kakashi and he lets loose a breath he hasn’t realized he is holding free. “Good,” she says in a sharp way that tells Obito she’s entirely aware of what Kakashi is doing and Obito’s failure to do something as small as _pay attention_ right.

He winces and lets his shoulders fall with dejection, though, he’s not cowed for long. When Tsunade begins to shift scrolls and other papers on her desk, he realizes their meeting is coming to an end. Now is the time to ask, Obito knows, if he doesn’t want to be caught off guard later. “So, now that I’ve rejoined the village and have pledged myself to you… Where will I be living?” he asks, causing the Hokage to pause in her tidying. When her brown eyes re-focus on him, he feels compelled to add, “Until I can afford a place of my own, that is.” 

Obito’s sure eventually he will be. He’s too skilled and knowledgable for them to _never_ not want to use him (which will mean paying him for his services). Obito expects he’ll probably be used to torture enemy ninja and the like. Maybe answer questions about threats to the village and allies' homes as well. Possibly, if he’s not too unlucky, someday they’ll trust him with training the likes of ANBU and other elite ninjas.

“Arrangements will be made,” she answers in a simple, brusque way.

It’s on the tip of Obito’s tongue to ask what that means for him _now_ , but before he can, Kakashi, suddenly stretched to his full three and a half feet, declares, “That’s not necessary.”

“What?” sputters Obito, looking at his old teammate with big eyes.

Hands steepled in front of her, Tsunade puts her chin atop her bridged fingers and echoes Obito’s sentiment. “Yes, Hatake, what indeed,” she says.

“Obito can live with me until he can afford his own place,” he replies. “My apartment has a ‘study’ that I don’t really use at all.”

Tsunade hesitates a moment before she remarks, “That may not be the best idea.”

“Yeah, you’re really not going to like being around me _that_ much,” joins in Obito. Letting Obito spend the night with him yesterday had already been charitable enough on Kakashi’s part. Even if they’d been teammates once, maybe even friends, Obito is still the cause of so much grief for Kakashi. It’s not fair of Obito to invade his private space for who knows how long. Even if Kakashi thinks he wants him as an extended guest right now.

Kakashi glares at both of them. “I get to decide if it’s a bad idea,” he declares in a firm voice that leaves no room for arguments. “It’s my home.” Eyes curving with a smile, he adds with much more cheer, “Besides, it means you have less work to do figuring out arrangements.”

The Hokage sighs. “While that is tempting…” she murmurs, a hand coming to rub her temples.

Kakashi juts out his chin. “I’m a better ninja than him.”

“Hey,” grumbles Obito, bristling even though he knows it’s true.

“I’m still a chunin even at this age,” continues Kakashi, ignoring his complaint.

Tsunade eyes Kakashi. “You’re set on this, aren’t you.”

Kakashi tilts his head. “I even have an extra futon.”

“Fine,” agrees Tsunade, falling heavily against the back of her chair. Looking at Obito, she decrees, “We’ll give this a trial run. Two weeks from now report back.”

“Yes, Lady Hokage,” they agree in tandem, though, Obito’s bow to the woman falls a second later than Kakashi’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feelings and thoughts?
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Penance

Settling back into Konohagakure is an experience for Obito. In more ways than one. Technically, Obito is under constant guard from ANBU who watch his every step outside and inside Kakashi’s apartment. For those in Kakashi’s life, that doesn’t seem to matter, however. 

For his first week back in the village, every time he and Kakashi go anywhere, people show up to see them. He gets it. It’s not every day two powerful shinobi are reverted into a couple of kids. They’re a curiosity and it’ll die down eventually. 

At least Obito can take comfort in knowing he’s not the main attraction. That title goes to Kakashi. Everyone is absolutely fascinated to see one of the village’s greatest as a little boy. They always seem even more shocked when getting one over him is a lot more difficult than they first assume it will be.

Obito always feels a strange sense of pride at this. Kakashi is a better ninja than many; even when he’s just a kid. Once, he’d been on his genin team and actually almost won spars against him sometimes. While he hadn’t realized it at the time, that means Obito is no slouch either.

After they finish with Kakashi and take notice of Obito, they all turn pretty frosty (which Obito expected would be the case). Some are even hostile towards him (until Kakashi tells them to knock it off). However, no matter how they treat Obito _in front_ of Kakashi, the minute his old teammate turns his back on them and Obito they’re whispering death threats and warnings should he hurt the now diminutive ninja. 

He understands their protectiveness and it wouldn’t be so bad, but some of them are actually _really good_ at being menacing. Obito was, and now apparently is again, a crybaby. As much as he may hate it. Before, when they were really kids, Kakashi scoffed and mocked him for his tears, but now…

“What did you say to him?” his old teammate demands, drawing the attention of several sellers from nearby food stalls and other patrons of the market. His arms are crossed over his narrow chest and he’s giving Mitarashi Anko an actually very impressive glare.

The kunoichi is sputtering, all air of intimidation gone. However, it does nothing to stem Obito’s tears. Still, he attempts to dry them as he says to Kakashi, “Stop. I told you already that it’s not her fault I’m crying.”

Kakashi and Anko ignore him (as well as everyone else watching the confrontation). “Nothing that he doesn’t deserve!” the kunoichi shouts, the ability to form words finally returned to her. Some, ninjas also buying groceries like him and Kakashi, murmur their agreement. Kakashi’s glare shifts around the area, landing on several who are a little too loud in their approval. 

Obito cringes on their behalves when they look away. Kakashi’s glare packs heat, even now when it’s coming from somewhere around your belly button (or chest, in his case). His old teammate’s glare lets up slightly when it returns to Anko, but even without the edge to it, the level of his displeasure is clear to anyone watching. 

“You’d think it’d have gotten around already,” he huffs, more to himself than either of them. “Like I’ve said to _several_ people already, don’t threaten Obito. He _knows_ what happens if he steps out of line.” He points a finger at Obito, bringing more than just Anko’s attention to his red, snotty face. “Intimidating him only leads to embarrassing scenes like this one,” he says.

Anko quickly looks away and Obito hangs his head. “Thanks, Baka-Kashi,” he grumbles. “Draw a little more attention to my stupid tears why don’t you?”

Kakashi flaps a silencing hand at him. “Understand?” he demands, harshening his gaze to compel Anko to answer.

The kunoichi nods. “Yeah,” she grumbles, shoving her hands in the pockets of her long jacket. “Whatever.”

Obito’s old teammate dips his chin. Then, reaching behind him, he grabs Obito’s hand before he can stop him. “We got everything, right?” he asks. “Let’s go home.”

“Uh, yeah,” he answers. “Sure, we can go.”

Soon, he and Kakashi leave Anko and all of the other spectators in the market behind them. When it’s just the two of them (and his ANBU guards), he tells the smaller boy, “You don’t have to jump to my defense like that.” He sighs when Kakashi’s answer is to tighten his grip on Obito’s hand. “I’m just crying crocodile tears,” he assures his old teammate. “I’ll figure out how to rein them in again sooner rather than later.”

Kakashi stops and spins around so suddenly that Obito stumbles. He’d have fallen on his butt if Kakashi hadn’t strengthened his grip and kept him steady. “It’s not that!” he grumbles. “It’s _insulting_ ,” he complains, looking down at his toes. “I can take care of myself. You’re not going to break me if you…” he stops.

Obito exhales before he pushes a smile across his face. “Hey,” he says in a soft voice. Kakashi finally looks at him when he pokes his old teammate’s forehead. “I know you’d be fine, no matter what happens,” he says. Obito scrubs a hand through his hair and looks away, suddenly uncomfortable. “You’re a really… cute kid…” he mumbles, which draws snickers from Kakashi. 

“Most people when they see one just get instinctively protective.” Meeting Kakashi’s gaze, he assures him, “It says _nothing_ about your capabilities to take me, or pretty much anyone else, down.” He smiles at the boy. “They’ll see that if you give them a little time to get used to this and squash down that ‘protect’ urge.”

Kakashi stares back at him a moment before his eyes curve upward. “I understand,” he says. “Thank you, Obito.”

Much like with his tears, he has no control over the way his cheeks flair at his old teammate’s gratitude. “It’s nothing,” he denies.

The other boy lifts his palms to the sky and shrugs. “If you say so,” he replies. 

Obito puffs out his cheeks. “Hey,” he mutters. “Instead of mocking me, take one of these bags, would you? _I_ don’t like eggplants.”

Kakashi laughs openly and Obito’s stomach does a weird flip. It’s a strange sound. Something he’d rarely heard the first time when they were kids. It sounds good, though. Carefree and honest. Two things Kakashi rarely is.

“Okay,” he agrees.

As the boy takes one of the grocery bags from him, Obito silently hopes he’ll have the chance to hear Kakashi laugh like that again. As a boy or a man, it doesn’t matter to him. What does is hearing it, knowing that, for just a moment, Kakashi isn’t weighted down by the tragedies life has inflicted on him or the responsibilities the world has placed on his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this one a lot. How about you guys?
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	4. Afternoon Brawl

After a month of taking shifts to follow around Obito, Tenzo starts to think that, maybe, it’s okay to start letting others take on the bulk of supervising the boy. It feels unbelievable that he could go from one of the largest threats to not just the village, but the world in less than two months to well, a kid who can cry at a drop of a hat. Yet, somehow, he has.

He’s also learned from this month of observation that even if Obito hadn’t done an entire heel turn, he’d be no match against Kohana’s best. Kakashi, who barely surpasses his hip these days, has soundly thrashed Obito in just about every one of their training spars together twenty-eight days straight. 

Even as he thinks it, however, Tenzo knows he is underestimating Obito’s strength. Kakashi at seven is a challenge for many, even experienced ninjas. Not only was he a chunin at this age, he now has a wealth of experience and knowledge he didn’t have previously. The fact that Obito comes out of their spars only breathing hard with some bruises and minor cuts is impressive. If the wrong ninja is guarding him and does not take him seriously, he could try to escape the village or worse,  _ do _ something to the village. That won't end well.

The thought frightens him in a way few things do.

He wonders how he might impress this on his cohorts, and so many others, that while he may  _ look  _ as harmless an academy student, Obito is anything but. Moving to a new tree as Kakashi and Obito finish gathering their weapons from the training ground they used today, Tenzo decides it will have to be something he considers after his shift is over. Perhaps speak to the Hokage about as well. She may have some ideas herself.

The two know he’s here. That’s to be expected, they aren’t actual kids and it was a condition Obito was made aware of before he was given free reign of Kohana. As if he can read his mind, Kakashi suddenly looks right at Tenzo. The boy gives him one of his odd smiles when Obito is bent over picking a kunai from the dirt at their feet. A minute later, the pair are walking back in the direction of the village, discussing dinner options.

As he follows, they begin to, for a lack of a better word, squabble. Obito is pushing for ramen while Kakashi is insisting on barbecue. Once they are back in the village proper, Tenzo, who now walks the roofs of the village’s buildings instead of trees, is joined in his tailing by Sai. He tips his head at the younger, who returns his greeting with the same gesture. Below them, on the mildly busy street, Obito’s face takes on a red hue and Kakashi is rolling his eyes at the other.

“What are they fighting about?” asks Sai. He is in a slight crouch, hands resting on his knees as he peers down curiously.

Tenzo’s lips twitch. “Dinner,” he replies.

Sai hums. “Why don’t they just get it separately if they can’t agree and meet back at Kakashi’s apartment?”

He almost laughs. It’s a completely sensible suggestion. One that both, or at least Kakashi, should have come up with. However, both have been lacking in the rationality department as of late. Tenzo expects it has something to do with being seven and ten again but hasn’t said anything to anyone. 

They’re functioning well enough, all things considered. He knows they would absolutely  _ revolt  _ if anyone tried to suggest they maybe should have a “sensei” to look out for them. As long as Kakashi is kept to the relative safety of the village, for the time being, Tenzo sees no reason to bring his observations to anyone of authority’s attention. 

“Have you seen these two go  _ anywhere  _ apart since this all began?” he asks the other when Sai begins to frown, finally having picked up on Tenzo’s suppressed snickers.

“No,” answers Sai after a beat of thought. “That’s… Odd.”

Before Tenzo can say anything in return, Obito and Kakashi tense on the street below. Then, without further warning, they’re rolling on the ground. If this had happened a month ago, Tenzo would already have Obito incapacitated and halfway to the Hokage’s tower. Now, however, he knows this brawl is nothing more than a childish display of what happens when two people spend too much time in one another’s company.

He exchanges a glance with Sai, who looks slightly miffed, but mostly exasperated. “We should break this up before any of the civilians get nervous,” Sai remarks.

“I agree,” says Tenzo with some regret. It’s quite the show going on below and given how Kakashi’s shoulders had been drooping as the two left the training field, there is a good chance Obito will finally beat the younger in a fight if they aren’t interrupted.

As Obito and Kakashi kick up dirt, Tenzo and Sai appear on either side of them and reach into the fight to pry them apart. Tenzo gets an arm around Kakashi’s middle and uses his free hand to pry Kakashi’s tiny fingers from Obito’s face.

Sai does the same, though he unfurls Obito’s fingers from Kakashi’s hair instead of his face. Once they each have a boy and a foot between them, Tenzo declares, “I think a dinner apart might be a good idea.”

Both boys begin to protest. “No, it’s okay—”

“I’m sorry, it was my fault—”

Tenzo lets Kakashi go. Sai, with some reluctance, does the same with Obito. The two, standing side by side again, look ready to attack both of them. It tickles Tenzo how much of a team they look even though just a minute ago Kakashi was trying to gauge out Obito’s eyes as Obito attempted to knee him in the kidneys. He curves his lips into a slight smirk and reaches down and pats the top of Kakashi’s head, drawing a look that is a mixture of confusion and annoyance from him.

“You’ve just spent too much time together,” he says. “A break is all you need.”

Obito still looks suspicious of him, of Sai, (what a surprise), but Kakashi relents. He nods and says, “Have fun with Sai, Obito.”

Obito tenses. “How’s that fair?” he complains.

Kakashi shrugs his shoulders and falls into step with Tenzo as they start walking in the direction of their favorite barbecue dive to eat at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you care for this chapter? Thoughts on Tenzo and Sai?
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	5. Nighttime Comfort

Obito finds out pretty quickly that sleep is still as elusive to him at ten as it was to him in his thirties. It’s frustrating. When he’d been a kid the first time, sleep had come okay. Not exactly at the drop of a kunai knife, but better than this. Sighing as he tosses beneath his navy blue covers, he decides he’s tired of lying in the dark with only his thoughts.

Flipping them off, he rolls off his futon and stands up. Looking around his room in the darkness, he takes note of the little touches of personality it’s gained over the last month. The hexagon-patterned green curtains that cover the room’s long window to block out light from the street, the red-wood dresser against the far wall that holds his clothes, weapons, sheets, towels, and other miscellaneous things. On the wall next to his door hangs a framed poster of a bird catching a fish from a waterway. He’d found that two weeks ago when he and Kakashi stopped in an art shop for Kakashi so he could find a gift for Sai’s birthday. 

It’d been an impulsive purchase, but Obito likes it more each morning.

Eyes shifting to his door, he decides he will go to the kitchen for a glass of water. Usually, he tries to avoid leaving his room at night. Kakashi is an extremely light sleeper and Obito hates that he can wake him by just walking to the bathroom, let alone to the kitchen to fix himself a snack or get a drink.

Tonight, however, Obito feels there’s simply no other solution for his restlessness other than to do something. Opening his door, he walks down the short, plain hallway of Kakashi’s apartment and into the living area. Hanging a left into the small kitchen, Obito narrowly avoids stubbing his toes on the large red ceramic food and water bowls Kakashi keeps available for his ninken. 

Reaching the room’s sink, he pulls a glass that’s still in the drying rack beside it free and turns the tap on. Once Obito has a half-glass of water, he turns it off and begins to drink the room temperature water. Sometimes, he wishes for stronger drinks. Most of the time, he’s thankful he can’t. That’s no way to fix his insomnia.

As he sips at his water, Obito’s lips curve in a frown. If he strains his ears just so, he can hear a slightly muffled sound coming from Kakashi’s room. Finishing off his glass in one last gulp, he puts the cup in the sink’s basin. Leaving the kitchen, he goes back towards the bedrooms. 

Stopping outside Kakashi’s room, he tilts his head near and listens. There is definitely _some_ kind of noise on the other side.

Harsh breathing, maybe. 

Obito dithers a moment, but in the end follows his instincts and slowly opens the door. When the gap between the bedroom and the hall are just wide enough, he peeks his face in. “Kakashi?” he calls in a loud whisper.

The smaller boy doesn’t respond from beneath his covers. In the dim moonlight filtering in from Kakashi’s uncovered window, Obito slowly starts to see that Kakashi’s chest is rising and falling quickly. He sighs. Carefully avoiding the traps set up around the room’s entrance, Obito comes into his old teammate’s bedroom. 

Padding over to Kakashi, he kneels down next to him. He knows better than to lay a hand on the boy, but he still tries to wake him.

“Kakashi,” he says in a clear, normal voice.

The boy’s eyes snape wide open. They stare up at Obito for a long, uncomprehending moment. Finally, they droop ever so slightly and he whispers, “You’re real?”

Obito nods. “Yeah,” he says. Making sure to telegraph his movements for Kakashi, he slowly comes to rest a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I’m real, this is real, the world’s real.”

“Okay,” he murmurs.

Still staring down at Kakashi, he asks (because he can’t help himself), “Were you having a nightmare?”

His old teammate’s eyes turn distant and he looks away from him. “Something like that,” he says.

“Sorry,” he replies, giving Kakashi’s shoulder a squeeze. Given his answer, Obito knows that, really, Kakashi was reliving a terrible memory in dream-form. It may not have been one that he caused, but Obito still feels like an apology is in order. It sucks to have memories play out in front of you and have no way to change them.

Kakashi’s eyes return to him and there’s a strange furrow to his brows. “For what?” he asks.

Obito blinks. Then, he frowns. “It felt like the right thing to say,” he tells him.

The boy makes a small scoffing noise. “If you say so,” he mutters.

He takes his hand back and starts to stand up. “Well, you seem like you’re doing okay now—”

“Don’t,” Kakashi whispers. 

Obito pauses, one foot flat on the floor, the other beneath him. Staring at Kakashi, he asks, “Don’t what?”

His old teammate says nothing. Instead, he stares in the exact opposite direction of Obito. Watching Kakashi, Obito sees him slowly scrunch himself up to one side of his bed, leaving the other half empty.

 _Oh_.

Kakashi has never been good at asking for things that have nothing to do with becoming a better, stronger ninja. For anything he really needs. Whether it’s an extra egg at lunch or a hand up after a fall during training. If they were really kids, Obito would be utterly oblivious right now. He might even start huffing and puffing. Maybe even yell when Kakashi continued to refuse to just _say_ what it is he wants.

They aren’t, however. Obito is grateful for that. It makes understanding this strange person so much easier. Tugging back Kakashi’s blanket, he says, “It’s been kind of cold in my room. Do you think I could sleep with you?”

With his back now to him, Kakashi’s head bobs, gray hair glinting in the moonlight from the motion.

Slipping under the blankets, he makes sure not to press too closely to Kakashi. Even so, he can’t help himself. “Your sheets smell like dog,” he teases. “Have you been letting your ninken sleep in here with you?”

Kakashi’s shoulders tense and Obito starts to giggle. Kakashi _has_! “Shut up, crybaby Obito,” he grumbles before snagging the bed’s pillow and pulling it over his head. “They don’t have a futon anymore thanks to you.”

Obito stops laughing abruptly and sits straight up. Gaping at the younger boy, he sputters, “You gave me your _dog bed_ to sleep in!”

“I cleaned it first,” Kakashi mumbles from beneath the pillow covering his face.

Flopping back down next to Kakashi, Obito is a lot less careful about keeping his limbs to himself. One arm now over Kakashi’s chest, he grumbles, “You’re an awful host, Baka-Kashi.”

“You’d have never known,” he says as he lifts the pillow off his face, “if you hadn’t decided to tease me.”

Staring at the younger’s grumpy, scowling face for a moment, Obito just feels bewilderment. Finally, he turns his gaze to the ceiling and says, “Tomorrow, I think, we’re going to get me a new bed and give your dogs back theirs.”

“Whatever,” says Kakashi. Obito is then startled when one of Kakashi’s hands finds its way into the palm of the hand he has laying across the younger boy’s chest. “Go to sleep, Obito.”

“Okay,” he replies dumbly. Closing his eyes, he keeps still, just listening to Kakashi’s breathing slowly even out into sleep. Then, at some point, everything goes away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to know what you all think of this chapter? Any suggestions?
> 
> Thank you for reading


	6. After Lunch Conversations

Kurenai’s kitchen is a small, cozy room painted in a salmon color. Its cupboards are a dark-colored wood not quite red enough to be mahogany, but close. While, in contrast, the counters are shining white. In the room’s single window, in front of the equally white ceramic sink, is a flower box filled with various herbs. One herb at the end of the box, a shisho plant, is missing a handful of its leaves thanks to Kurenai’s hands.

She needed it for the soup she cooked for the four of them. 

Her eyes wander across the kitchen table to one of the remaining three seated there. His gaze is turned away from Kurenai. He, Obito, looks past the kitchen’s doorway into the next room where her daughter and Kakashi sleep on the room’s tatami mats, both sated from lunch. 

She remembers the first time she saw him after he was brought back to the village. For a moment, Kurenai hadn’t known up from down, or today from yesterday. When she caught an eyeful of Kakashi she actually questioned for a moment if she hadn’t somehow gone back in time. Thankfully, that fear had been quickly put to an end when the Lady Hokage spoke. Tsunade hadn’t been Hokage then. For her to be addressing her and her fellow jonin it had meant Kurenai was in the present and she’d been relieved.

Now, in her kitchen, she can study Obito even closer than in the Hokage’s office. The boy looks almost as she recalls from her childhood. Except his clothes are missing the typical Uchiha insignia (a choice made by him and emphatically agreed on by everyone else) and his mature eyes belie his round face. Kurenai hasn’t asked, but she does wonder if he can activate his Sharingan still. She hopes he can’t, not after everything she’s learned in the last month and a half.

He, unsurprisingly, picks up on her steady gaze. 

Turning his face back towards hers, Obito smiles in a perfectly friendly way at her. Kurenai doesn’t believe in its geniality for a minute, but she doesn’t let it show. Instead, she turns her attention to the yellow cast-iron teapot in the middle of the table. Picking it up, she pours herself a cup. Then, looking pointedly at the empty cup in Obito’s hands, asks, “Tea?”

“Sure,” he agrees. However, he doesn’t put his cup down right away. Instead, his eyes shift back to Kakashi in the next room. “He’s not a kid, but he is seven,” says Obito to Kurenai as he puts his empty teacup down on the table for her.

She looks at the ten-year-old and then at where Kakashi and Mirai are sleeping side by side. Beneath the fuzzy blue blanket tossed haphazardly over the two, she sees Mirai kick one of her feet. “Seven, but not a kid, huh?” she says, trying to understand the boy’s words.

Obito nods and she remembers to pour him tea. As she fills his cup, he tells her, “He doesn’t try to be, but it’s not his fault. Seven-year-olds just need more sleep and to eat regularly and stuff like that.”

Kurenai considers the information with a hum. She wonders if Obito isn’t the same as Kakashi. She’s heard from a few different people about a couple of different incidents where Obito burst into tears. Most notably, of one occurrence in the market involving Anko. Some think he’s putting on shows to make them lower their defenses. 

Kurenai isn’t so sure.

Obito very well could be, but… The memories are old now, but she has them all the same. A dip into those from her youth brings to her mind’s eye an image of Obito with a snotty, red face and tears in his eyes. She’d all but forgotten, he had been quick to cry once. Why couldn’t he again if Kakashi requires naps like an actual child of his physical age?

Putting her cheek in her palm, she looks at Obito with a faint smirk. “So you have a bedtime for Kakashi? And a schedule for meals?” She chuckles, amused at the thought. “Does  _ he  _ know you have this schedule?”

The ten-year-old laughs nervously and looks away from her and her mind whispers ‘cute’. Kurenai frowns and squashes down the obtrusive descriptor. In the process, she nearly misses Obito mumble, “Well… Sort of?” He winces. “It’s difficult to conceal that you’ve made a timetable for eating when you insist on stopping your training for lunch and when you refuse to leave the apartment in the morning unless you both eat something. Sleep-wise…” 

He grins at her, and Kurenai pauses, there’s something just a little devious about it. However, her unease quickly fades when Obito leans closer and whispers, “Kakashi thinks the lay-downs I bully him into after lunch are because  _ I’m  _ being a wimp and want to rest. Really, I do it because he needs a nap or he becomes annoying and unreasonably stubborn later.”

Kurenai can’t help herself. She smothers laughter behind her hands. “I won’t tell,” she promises.

Obito nods, still smirking slightly. “It’s all only temporary no matter how you look at it. We’ll be turned back into adults and he won’t need naps or he’ll outgrow them.”

Some of her elation fade. Yes, one way or another it would change. She feels a little badly, but something tells her if they can fix this, Obito will not be given the chance to be a man again nearly as quickly as Kakashi. Obito at ten, even with his memories, his knowledge, connections, is far more manageable than he was at almost forty. She doesn’t foresee anyone being excited to change that. Kakashi will push to have his old teammate put right, but… Will he win the argument?

She has doubts.

Obito, oblivious to her train of thought, props his elbows on the table and places his chin in his hands. “It’s exhausting playing big brother with him sometimes.” He glances at her. “I bet it’s worse being a mom, huh?”

She nods at first but finishes by shaking her head. “It’s rewarding,” she says. “Being tired is simply the payment for the joy Mirai gives me.”

The ten-year-old turns his gaze from her to Kakashi and her daughter. “Huh,” he says. “I guess you have a point.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading


	7. A Challenge

Kakashi glares at Gai across the table. The man, of course, pays him no mind and continues to scribble on the piece of paper in front of him with a green pen. “This is a ridiculous challenge, Gai,” grumbles Kakashi as he looks down at his own paper, which is entirely blank.

Gai glances up from his paper, eyebrows hidden by his bangs. “How is drawing our most important people ridiculous?” he demands. Slapping his hand against the table next to his drawing, he grins and proclaims, “We are memorializing them in the colors of youth!” He laughs as Kakashi continues to eye him skeptically and says, “If that isn’t a worthy goal I don’t know what is.”

He sighs. “Right,” Kakashi relents as he picks up a black pen and carefully begins to draw circles for the faces of his precious people.

The two of them fall into an easy silence for a while until Gai throws his pen down and declares, triumphant, “I am done!”

Kakashi, half-way through his meticulously detailed drawing of his precious people, looks up. He frowns when he sees his friend’s drawing. “…Gai, that’s not people, that’s the village,” he said exasperated.

“ _All_ of the village is my precious people,” Gai replies, straight-faced.

Bull _shit_ thinks Kakashi. Leveling his friend with an unimpressed stare, he says, “Uh-huh.” Returning his attention to his own drawing, he tells Gai, “We’ll let Obito judge when he gets back. I’m sure he’ll agree with my interpretation of your challenge.”

Gai laughs. “Ah, but he won’t!”

Kakashi scoffs and rolls his eyes, but says nothing more

-O-

“I’m back!” calls Obito as he steps into Kakashi (and now his) apartment. No one yells ‘Welcome home!’. Slightly confused and a little worried, Obito chucks off his sandals into a haphazard heap by Kakashi’s and Gai’s shoes. He then hurries into the next room and finds Kakashi and Gai waiting for him. He starts to calm, but his nerves amp right back up when he notices the strange looks on their faces. Looking between the two, he says, “What is it?”

“We need you to judge our pictures,” says Kakashi, holding the piece of paper in his hand up a little higher. “Gai challenged me to draw our most important people and _he_ drew the village instead of people.”

“All of the village is my precious people!” proclaims Gai, glaring down at Kakashi’s head.

Obito looks from Kakashi to Gai, to Kakashi again. “Right,” he says slowly. “So I’m judging…?”

“Who won the challenge!” Kakashi grumbles, glaring at him (though he is sounding a bit whiny and his glare feels more like a pout. A glance at the room’s black-framed clock in the corner tells Obito they’ve flown right past naptime today).

He sighs. “Okay,” he relents. “Show me your pictures.”

The two, lighting-quick, flip over their drawings for Obito to see. Kakashi is right, Gai has drawn the village. It is a pretty decent rendition too. The perspective is a little off and it isn’t _quite_ as detailed as the actual view from the monument, but it is without a doubt Konohagakure.

Obito then looks to Kakashi’s picture. He feels his stomach drop out and his chest tighten. He’s drawn some uncomfortably accurate depictions of his old genin team, as well as Yamato, Sai, Gai, _and_ Obito. He doesn’t know why he is so surprised because Kakashi has made it very clear from the moment they sat up in that crater, missing decades, he isn’t going to leave him behind again. This time Kakashi is going to keep Obito close and cherish him like he should have when they were teammates. Even so, to see he is one of the few in the drawing makes him a little dizzy with emotion.

Feeling tears prick at his eyes, Obito forces his gaze back to Gai’s drawing. “Gai wins,” he declares. The man cheers as Kakashi groans. “Just because he thinks outside the box doesn’t mean he didn’t meet the challenge rules, Kakashi,” teases Obito.

His friend scowls at him. Obito doesn’t let it deter him in the least. Moving forward, he plucks the picture from Kakashi’s fingers and says, “This is pretty good, by the way.” He looks from it to Kakashi. “I always just thought reading was your hobby?”

“It _is_ ,” huffs Kakashi.

Obito scratches his head. “Huh,” he says. “Well, when I was a kid, my Granny would put my drawings on the fridge if she thought I did a particularly good job.”

“You want to put this on the fridge?” replies Kakashi, miffed.

He laughs. “Yeah?”

“It’s not _that_ good,” he mutters, looking away, fingers twitching at his side.

“Nonsense!” proclaims Gai, causing both Obito and Kakashi to jump. “It is a marvelous picture even if it did not win our challenge.”

“He’s right,” insists Obito. “You did good.”

Kakashi stares at his picture and twists his lips beneath his mask. “If you _insist_ ,” he says.

“I do,” affirms Obito, taking the picture into the kitchen. Grabbing one of the two magnets they have from the corner of the fridge, he brings it down to hold the picture to the bottom door. Turning around, he sees Kakashi and Gai are both in the doorway. “There!” he declares, smug.

“It brightens your kitchen,” Gai says in a way of praise.

Kakashi’s expression is inscrutable, but he nods all the same. “It adds _something_ ,” he agrees.

Obito wants to tell him it’s hominess Kakashi feels but doesn’t know how the other will take it. In the month and a half he’s been living with Kakashi, he’s figured out his old teammate, for all his growth as a person, still prefers living in a sterile apartment. There were only the tiniest hints to the type of person who lived in the apartment out for the view of others when he moved in.

It’s been a fight to make it more personalized, but, slowly, Obito has been winning (even if most touches are from his hand, not Kakashi’s, and are relegated to his bedroom). Who knows how long Kakashi will let the picture stay up before it is “accidentally” ruined if he knows it leaves his apartment feeling a bit more like a home? Not very long at all. So Obito says nothing.

“Then it’ll stay awhile,” Obito declares. Going to the other side of the kitchen, he steps onto the room’s relatively new step stool and begins to rifle through the cupboard, looking for the rice. “What should we have for dinner?” he asks Gai and Kakashi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter with Gai! How did you enjoy their challenge?
> 
> Thanks for reading


	8. House Call

Tsunade looks up from the report in front of her when a familiar ANBU appears before her desk. “At ease,” she says. The ANBU relaxes his stance as Tsunade steeples her hands in front of her. “What do you have to report?” she asks, one eyebrow raised.

The ANBU says, “Neither have left the apartment since the day before yesterday morning.”

She leans back in her chair and turns a considerate eye to the ceiling. “Hmm…”

“What shall we do, Lady Hokage?” asks the ANBU when she does not answer after a minute.

Tsunade returns her gaze to the masked man in front of her. While the reasons for their absence around the village could be nefarious, Tsunade is much more inclined to believe there is a mundane cause. “Send Haruno Sakura to their door,” she advises. “There’s a flu going around. I suspect one or both has caught it.”

“Understood,” says the ANBU. After a short bow, he disappears whence he came.

-O-

Sakura lets her hand hover in front of the door, unsure if she should knock again. It’s been almost two minutes since her first and she feels a little uneasy. Her old sensei has a way of making people wait, but as she’s learned in the last two months, Obito does not do the same. “Hello?” she calls when she hears shuffling on the other side of the door.

A moment later, the door opens, revealing a pale-faced Obito. He gazes up at her. “Sorry for the wait,” he says, offering a small smile that disappears the moment Sakura’s hand connects with his forehead. “Oh,” he mumbles, blinking once.

“No fever,” Sakura says to herself, drawing her hand back.

The boy rolls his eyes. “Yes, I know,” he says in a snarky tone she is familiar with thanks to Sasuke. “Thank you for that, Haruno.”

She ignores it in favor of peering over his head and into the dim apartment. “Where’s Kakashi-sensei?”

There is a beat of silence followed by a sigh from Obito. “…He _does_ have a fever.”

“Let me see him,” demands Sakura, giving the ten-year-old a fierce glare.

He crosses his arms and narrowed his eyes at her for a brief moment. Then, relenting he steps aside, letting her in. “Okay, but just be quiet, won’t you?” he asks as she takes her shoes off. “It’s been hard to keep him asleep for long the last couple of days.”

“Sure,” agrees Sakura as she walks past Obito and makes a beeline for the back of the apartment where she knows his and Kakashi’s rooms to be. Opening the closed bedroom door, she is surprised to find that there is not one, but two futons in the room. One is a mess with the blanket thrown back, while the other holds a very tiny Kakashi beneath its blanket.

“You’ve been sleeping in here?” she whispers over her shoulder at Obito, concerned.

“Just for now,” he replies. Brushing up against her side as he peers into the room, he explains, “It’s the fever, he dreams and, sometimes, he just needs to be reassured I’m actually real when he wakes up.”

Sakura bites her lip. That isn’t good, though, this is the first time Kakashi has been sick and very small in a long time. It isn't a surprise to her at all he is finding it more tiring and frightening to be sick at seven than he had in his thirties. “Oh…” 

“It’s fine,” insists Obito as he finally pushes past her to go sit on the edge of his futon beside Kakashi’s. “Whatever he’s got has just really knocked him on his ass. He’ll bounce back quickly enough.” A facsimile of a smile ghosts across his faux-childish face. “Kids always do.”

Slowly, Sakura moves into the room and lowers herself down next to Obito. “There’s a flu going around,” she explains.

Obito takes this information in with a cocked head followed by an understanding nod. “He did throw up twice yesterday,” he remarks.

“That’s not good,” Sakura says, dismayed and a little louder than she should have.

Her old sensei shifts beneath his blanket and she holds her breath as he blinks open both eyes (and how weird is it still to see both of them and not just one?). “Hngh, Sakura?” he mumbles in a croaky voice.

She bites her lip again. “Sorry, I woke you,” she mumbles, feeling bad. He looks just exhausted.

He ignores her apology in favor of turning onto his side to look at her better. “What’re you doin’ here?” he asks.

“Checking on you two,” she answers honestly. “We got a little concerned when neither of you left your apartment yesterday or today.”

“Oh,” Kakashi says over a smothered yawn. “Yeah, should’a told Obito to tell them,” he says before closing his eyes again.

“ _I_ should have thought to,” Obito grumbles. Reaching over, he gave the younger a gentle poke to the forehead and Sakura feels something stick in her throat. “Everything isn’t up to you Baka-kashi.”

Feebly, the seven-year-old knocks Obito's hand away. “Stop that,” he whines. “I’m sick an’ Sakura’ll beat you up if I tell her to.” His eyes switch to her. “Won’t you?” he asks, though it isn’t so much a question as it is a command.

Keeping a straight face, she says, “If I beat him up, who will watch out for you, Kakashi-sensei? The boys are out of the village on missions and I have work at the hospital.” She feels a smirk tease at the corners of her mouth. “I guess I could call Gai…”

“You’re both awful,” huffs Kakashi as he flips around and shows them his back.

Obito, beside Sakura, chuckles. “He’s feeling better.”

“You think?” she says.

He grins. “He’s being a brat again.”

There is another loud scoff from Kakashi, but, otherwise, he remains silent as Obito continues to look at Sakura with shining, amused eyes.

She finds herself smiling back at the boy. He is right. Kakashi is on the mend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?
> 
> Thanks for reading


	9. Paying Respects

Naruto smiles to himself as he walks through Konoha’s gates. There is something about walking through them that always lifts his spirits. His home isn’t perfect, but it is _his_ and where some of his most precious people live. Walking further into his village, Naruto begins to contemplate if he should go home first or get Ichiraku’s. 

When he comes to the street that should he turn left on it he’ll be on the path to his apartment, or if he goes right, on the path to Ichiraku’s, Naruto stops. Crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his face towards the sky he starts to weigh the pros and cons a lot more seriously. It’s been two days since he took an actual shower…

He pulls the collar of his shirt away from his skin and sniffs beneath it. He doesn’t smell that—

A wisp of white hair catches his attention out of his peripheral gaze. Dropping his collar, he whips his head around to see his old sensei off to the side, both eyes (which is still weird to see) curved with a smile.

“Kakashi-sensei!” he yells out, delighted. Around them, villagers startle and a couple of ninjas roll their eyes. They are more than used to Naruto’s loud mouth these days.

“Naruto,” the boy returns, quieter, though just as enthused.

Stepping out of the way of a middle-aged couple walking hand-in-hand, Naruto sort of ushers Kakashi with him to stand beneath the awning of a nearby pharmacy. A grin that refuses to be contained on his face, he chatters, “Man, it’s been ages since I’ve seen you, you know!”

Kakashi nods. Putting his hands in the pockets of the dark brown shorts he wears, he takes on his characteristic slouch. Naruto barely stops himself from pointing out that it makes his old sensei look even smaller. “I heard you had an extended mission,” says Kakashi.

Naruto chuckles. With his sensei basically out of commission for the time being, Tsunade has been sending him and others out to handle missions she’d typically have given Kakashi. Naruto’s nowhere near as efficient or subtle, but with a good team behind him, pulling off the missions Kakashi could do solo or with just a partner is totally doable. He’s proud to do them. To be respected enough by her that the old grandma would call on him is just… He has a lot of hope. The future is bright. He’s going to really do it. He _will_ be Hokage.

“Yeah! It went really well!” he exclaims, practically hopping in place. “You’d be proud!”

His old sensei’s eyes meet his. “I am proud,” Kakashi replies, blunt.

Naruto gapes for a brief moment. Then, as he desperately tries to think of something else to say, he turns his eyes to the surroundings. There’s nothing too interesting. No cool looking birds flying overhead. Nobody walking around that he knows well to call over. Nothing about Kakashi is particularly interesting today, except this is probably the first time he’s seen him alone since—

“Hey, where’s that Obito-guy?” he asks, head swiveling around much more obviously now that he’s seriously looking for Kakashi’s old genin teammate.

Kakashi’s shoulders lift a moment, only to fall. “Helping an old lady weed her garden,” he answers like it's the most normal thing in the world instead of super weird. Naruto is all about helping others and second chances, but this turnaround has happened a lot faster than he expected it would. So quickly that Obito now seems nothing at all like the Obito who tried to end life as they know it.

“Really?” he questions, eyes wide as he stares down at Kakashi.

Kakashi doesn’t react to his shock. “Mh-hm,” he answers, dipping his chin. “Obito met her in the market yesterday. We were discussing the price of leeks and he became a little too enthusiastic and knocked her over when she was looking at onions next to us.”

“Oh wow!” Naruto murmurs, putting his hands on his knees and bending slightly so he and Kakashi are closer to being eye-to-eye

A bit of an impish light comes to Kakashi’s eyes as he continues, “He felt so bad that he carried home her groceries and then promised to come back today and help her with her garden.”

Naruto throws back his head and begins to laugh. “Haha! What a dork.”

“I know,” agrees Kakashi, one hand coming to rest over his mask as he gives a small chortle of his own.

A new thought occurs to Naruto. Trying to not give away anything, he smiles and asks, “Hey, Kakashi?”

“Yes?” his old sensei returns.

“D’you miss being tall ever?” he questions. “I would, you know?”

Kakashi’s gaze slides away from him. “Hmm,” he mumbles in a contemplative way. “I suppose sometimes—” Naruto interrupts Kakashi by grabbing him beneath the ribs and lifting Kakashi onto his shoulders. “—Naruto!” he complains, giving his hair a sharp yank.

“Ow! Don’t pull my hair,” whines Naruto, swatting away his old sensei’s hands. Lowering them to grab onto Kakashi’s feet and anchor him in place, he grumbles, “I just thought you’d like to be tall again for a little bit!”

Kakashi starts to squirm like he’s going to throw himself off of Naruto and, in response, he moves his grip up to the boy’s narrow ankles and holds just tight enough that twisting away from him will not be easy. “Put me down,” demands Kakashi, pulling at his hair again.

Naruto winces and tries to ignore the sting as he wheedles, “Come on, Kakashi-sensei. Me and Sakura had to carry you back to the village after you and Obito were turned into kids, you know.”

The pulling stops and there’s silence for a moment. Then, softly, his old sensei murmurs, “It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?” he asks.

“…I haven’t ridden on anybody’s shoulders like this since I was younger than _this_.”

“Really?” replies Naruto, feeling surprised (though, he doesn’t know why. He knows Kakashi’s an orphan like him). He tilts his face up to try and glimpse the boy’s expression, but can’t really, much to his frustration.

“My dad…” Kakashi mumbles. “When I was a student at the academy still, he would insist.” He’s quiet for a moment again before he tells Naruto, “I never argued that hard against it.”

Naruto’s shoulders suddenly feel like they’re being weighed down by three or four Kakashis instead of the one he is holding. It’s one thing to never get to be carried around, but to lose the person who carries you? And when you’re as little as Kakashi sensei had to be? Naruto just can’t _imagine_. “Oh,” he says.

Kakashi is quiet for a minute, then, pulling at his hair once again (though, much more gently), he says, “Naruto,”

“Yeah?” asks Naruto, perking up slightly.

“I haven’t been to see my dad’s grave since Obito and I came back,” he tells him. Kakashi then leans over the top of Naruto’s head and gives him a pair of upside-down smiling eyes. “How would you like to go with me to pay my respects?”

Naruto gapes. “Really?” Then, after a slight shake of his head, babbles, “I mean, sure! I would be honored.”

Kakashi sits back upright and the shadow of his pointing hand darkens the dirt of the street in front of Naruto. “Let’s go buy some incense from this shop I know. Dad had a favorite one and I always like to burn it when I visit.

He grins. “Yeah, okay!” agrees Naruto. He’s pumped. As well as extremely touched that Kakashi is going to share something so personal with him. Naruto’s figured out over the years that his old sensei is somebody who keeps everything dear to him close to his chest. If he’s willing to have Naruto tag along it must mean he’s just as precious to him.

As they start to walk in the direction of the shop that Kakashi is guiding him to, the boy starts to tap an idle rhythm against Naruto’s chest with the heels of his tiny feet. Finally, when they come to the shop, a tiny, old-looking stall made of gray, weather-worn wood near one of Konoha’s older graveyards. Kakashi starts to squirm and before Naruto can think to stop him, he’s flipped off Naruto’s back and landed in front of him. 

Staring up at him, Kakashi puts out a little fingerless-gloved hand and says, “Since you just back from a mission, I’m sure you have a little money you can spare?”

Naruto almost can’t believe his old sensei. Mouth open wide enough to catch flies, he exclaims, “What!”

Kakashi rolls his eyes. “You don’t actually think _I’m_ carrying anything on me, do you?” he demands. “I was just taking a walk before I ran into you.”

Naruto scrubs a hand down his cheek. The boy can’t be serious! Yet… Well, he really wants to meet Kakashi’s dad. He sighs in defeat and reaches into a pocket to reach for his wallet. “Ergh, you kind of suck, Kakashi-sensei,” he complains.

“Ah, but I’m cute, which more than makes up for it,” jokes Kakashi as he takes the money handed down to him. As he counts the coins and turns to walk up to the old, sun-tanned man behind the stall’s counter, his old sensei reminds him, “Plus I always let _you_ bully me into paying for things for you when you were my cute little genin.” He tilts his head and chuckles. “It’s just turnabout.”

Naruto just pouts. He’s pretty sure turnabout would be paying for a bowl of ramen or two for his own genin students, not incense for Kakashi-sensei. Yet he’s not going to argue too hard. All in all, if this _is_ a reversal, it’s much cheaper than he expected.

-O-

Naruto kneels down next to Kakashi in front of his dad, Hatake Sakumo’s, grave. It’s a simple and traditional grave made of dark gray stone with his name and the name of a woman, probably his wife and Kakashi’s mother, carved on it as well. He bows his head and watches from the corner of his eye as Kakashi carries out the ritualistic steps of paying his respect to his parents. 

After Kakashi lights the incense, he falls back and takes a kneeling position like Naruto’s. He rests his hands on his knees and stares at the grave. Voice soft, he addresses his deceased dad. “Yo,” he says. “I’ve brought one of my students, Naruto, with me today, Dad.”

“Uh, hi,” mutters Naruto when Kakashi doesn’t say more and instead looks at him, expectant.

Seemingly satisfied, he returns his attention to the grave. “He’s Minato-sensei’s son,” supplies Kakashi. He takes a deep breath and turns his gaze to the mostly blue sky above them. “A lot has happened since I last spoke to you,” he tells his dad. Kakashi brings a finger to scratch his cheek. “I guess the biggest thing is I found out Obito is alive. We were fighting and, somehow, after it was over, we both turned into a couple of kids.” 

Looking then to his tiny hands, Kakashi continues his rambling. “We’re kids the age we were when we got put on a team together, actually.” He chuckles. “It’s been strange sometimes, but more good than bad. Especially for Obito, I think. He’s a lot like I remember from when we were teammates.” Even softer, Kakashi admits to his dad, and Naruto by proximity, “It’s been… nostalgic. Yet I still hope we’ll be put right soon. The thought of having to grow up again is pretty excruciating.”

He slaps his hands on his legs then and smiles at the grave. “Well, Dad, it’s been nice seeing you. Naruto and I need to get going. He’s just back from a mission and I’m sure he’d like to get something to eat or go home and shower.” Kakashi bows his head then and murmurs a prayer before he finishes paying his respects. After, he stands up and looks at Naruto. Jerking his head in the direction of the graveyard’s entrance, he tells Naruto, “Let’s go.”

For a while, they walk in silence. It’s not bad, though. Naruto thinks it’s actually pretty comfortable. Visiting the graveyard together has put them even more at ease with each other than before and Naruto feels a whole lot closer with his old sensei. Looking down at the top of Kakashi’s silver-white head, he thinks to say, “Hey, Kakashi-sensei?”

“Yes, Naruto?” the boy prompts, looking up at him.

He gives him a small smile. “Thanks for taking with me to pay your respects to your dad.”

Kakashi looks away and shrugs. “It’s no big deal.”

Naruto scoffs. “Really?” Puffing out his cheeks, he reminds his old sensei, “It’s not every day you share stuff with us, you know!”

“Uh-huh,” Kakashi answers in an unimpressed tone. Hurrying up steps slightly, he remarks, “I think it’s time I stop by the old lady’s house. Obito is probably done with her garden.”

Naruto feels his heart twinge. He isn’t ready to let this end. He wants to continue to spend time with Kakashi and feel connected to probably one of the closest people to family he has. “Let me come,” he begs. “We can all get ramen together!”

“Sure,” agrees Kakashi, putting his hands in his pockets. “The more the merrier, right?”

He bobs his head. “Yeah, that’s it!” He snickers. “D’you think I can convince Obito to pay for a bowl or two?”

Kakashi chuckles. “With the puppy dog eyes you can manage? You could probably convince him to buy you Ichiraku’s. He’s a bit of a pushover.”

He wraps his arms around his belly and laughs loudly. “Oh man!” Naruto exclaims. “This is going to be great!” Mind’s eye dancing with a variety of ramen dishes, Naruto’s steps gain a distinctive bounce as he and Kakashi continue in the direction the old lady’s home Obito is at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a chapter from Naruto's pov, right? This is also my last prewritten. I have some ideas for a couple more, but as I said at the start, if anyone has suggestions for little scenes you'd like to see, please say something. I may actually consider and write it.
> 
> Thanks for reading


	10. Training Accident

Sai turns his eyes to the sky and feels what might be envy pressing down on his chest. The sky is a perfect blue and there isn’t a cloud in sight to block the sun’s steady rays. It’s a perfect day to do nature sketches. It is too bad he’d lost the drawing of sticks with his fellow “babysitters” for today’s watch. 

He knows it’s an inaccurate term for what he is, but several of his fellow kunoichi and shinobi tasked alongside him with guarding Obito insists that’s what they are. In fact, a couple who actually know or have children say Obito is even _less_ interesting than an actual child. He doesn’t really get up to mischief or trouble or anything amusing. 

Mostly, he trains with Kakashi. Sometimes he visits with Kakashi and Kakashi’s friends and the like. Once in a while, he runs an errand on his own. The most interesting thing that does happen is Obito sometimes bickers with Kakashi. A few of their fights have been absolutely ridiculous. 

Occasionally it’s come up if a 24-hour watch is really necessary. In the past, Sai has always been on the side that it is absolutely necessary. Obito may not seem like a threat now, but he could be biding his time, waiting for his chance to escape or strike against the village. Today, however…

He sighs and turns his attention to the pair of boys in the training field. Obito and Kakashi aren’t going through any particularly interesting maneuvers today or even sparring. In fact, Obito seems to be slacking off. He’s juggling various weapons not far from Kakashi who is in the middle of trying to climb a tree with his chakra. 

When they were first turned into children, their chakra control was all over the place. That wasn’t necessarily a shock to anyone. Kids the age the two are now aren’t exactly known for their control. However, Kakashi hadn’t been happy with that in the least. Over the last couple of months, he’s been working diligently to refine as well as build up his meager supply of chakra. 

It’s actually been pretty impressive to watch. He’s improved much more than anyone expected he would in such a short amount of time. Sai gets now why Kakashi is so respected, so feared, and agrees with all those who call him a genius. Kakashi is exactly that.

As the smaller boy goes further and further up the tall tree he’s chosen to train on, Sai sees Obito do the hand signs for a clone between juggling his kunai knives. There’s a smirk on the Uchiha’s face, but Sai is pretty sure it isn’t malicious.

He watches with great interest as the clone appears just on the edge of the trees near the base of the one Kakashi is climbing. Moving in closer from his hiding spot further in the forest, Sai watches intently to see if he will need to intervene. Obito is still smiling where he has gone back to his tricks with his kunai. His clone, however, is now high up in the tree next to Kakashi’s own. 

Sai finally realizes what’s going to happen and leans back. There’s nothing amiss. Obito is just going to try and give Kakashi a little shock. Chances are he won’t even manage it given how perceptive the other boy is. Tracking Obito’s clone with his eyes, Sai feels his heart jump to his throat when he sees it leap at Kakashi, and instead of cursing at or striking it, Kakashi reels back and loses his footing. 

He rushes forward to try and catch the boy as he starts to plummet for the ground. Obito himself has vanished his clone and is racing to try and get to Kakashi in time too. Kakashi descends so fast and by the time Sai grabs Kakashi’s wrist, he’s a handful of inches from the ground. Beneath his fingers, he feels the bones in Kakashi’s wrist give and the boy makes a low noise in the back of his throat.

He quickly lowers Kakashi to the ground. The boy curls in on himself and beside them, Obito falls to his knees. “I’m so sorry, Kakashi,” he snivels. “I was just trying to give you a scare! Not—” he actually starts to cry and Sai finds he’s utterly out of his depth. 

Kakashi unfurls a little and with his good hand, reaches out and grabs onto Obito’s sleeve. “I’m fine,” he lies. “It’s just a good bruise.”

Sai doesn’t understand a lot of social mores, but he is pretty sure lying about injuries to (ex)teammates is a big “don’t”. He frowns at Kakashi. “Don’t lie to him,” he chides. “You need to go to the hospital.”

“ _Hospital_?” yelps Obito. 

Sai startles and Kakashi levels him with a truly impressive glower. “Thanks, Sai,” he bites. He watches the little boy force himself to his wobbling feet in bewilderment. “It’s fine, Obito,” Kakashi assures the ex-traitor. “We’ll say it’s Sai’s fault it’s broken.” He chuckles humorlessly. “It’s technically the truth.” He shoots Sai a hard look. “You don’t train a lot with little kids.”

“No,” he replies, not quite comprehending. It’s true, he doesn’t train with children. It feels as if Kakashi isn’t actually asking a question, but stating a fact at him, however. 

The boy’s glare lets up and he reaches for Obito’s hand who more than happily gives it to Kakashi. “See?” he says smiling with his eyes. “His fault.” Sai watches Kakashi’s fingers tighten around Obito’s hand as he assures the still teary-eyed boy, “This isn’t a big deal. No one will have to know you had a part in the accident, so nobody is going to want to lock you away.”

Sai thinks he finally gets it. Kakashi lied to keep Obito from panicking, from fearing the worst could happen to him. He’d probably planned to find a way to ask Sai to discreetly bring Sakura to the training field to fix his arm. He’d wanted to leave Obito none the wiser and save him any guilt he might feel about his trick gone wrong. As well as keep him safe from the ire of those who could change his punishment to something more… punitive. 

Sai had unintentionally ruined Kakashi’s plan. Sai isn’t sure he’s upset with himself for it, however. Kakashi shouldn’t lie about injuries, even if it is to spare the feelings of an unstable person like Obito Uchiha. Obito needs to know pranks like that one are dangerous and he should be a little more thoughtful when it comes to his allies. While Kakashi and he know Obito meant no harm, someone else may not have. 

If it were someone else, they may not have let Kakashi take the lead in this situation and Obito _could_ be on his way to a cell in the bottom of Konoha right now. It’s important Obito understands that even if Kakashi doesn’t like it. In spite of his differing opinion, he still relents to Kakashi’s new scheme. He reaches down and sweeps Kakashi off his feet.

“What are you doing, Sai?” he demands, squirming in his grip.

He tightens his hold and looks down at the wide-eyed Obito beside them. “We should move quickly, shouldn’t we? Carrying you to the hospital will be the quickest.”

“It’s a broken wrist,” complains Kakashi. “Not a _leg_.”

Sai nods. “Yes, and you're quite small and young." He eyes him. "A panicking babysitter wouldn't let you walk," he says. He's watched children get hurt before. Their guardians always jumped right in and whisked them off for help without letting the child in question get much more than a word in edge-wise when it was serious. Sai was pretty sure broken bones fell under that category. He jostles the boy slightly. "They'd grab you and run for the hospital."

Kakashi stops struggling and sighs in defeat. “Fine,” he relents. “Let’s just go and get this break set.”

He nods and takes off in the direction of the hospital, Obito on his heels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [MagicaDoremi ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicaDoremi/pseuds/MagicaDoremi) said they'd like a chapter of Obito and Kakashi with Sai. It really isn't funny like you hoped it might be, but I think it turned out pretty interesting all the same. Everyone else's thoughts?
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	11. Family Resemblance

Bags of groceries in hand, Obito takes the apartment stairs two at a time. Finally, he reaches the landing of his and Kakashi’s floor and turns the corner off the main corridor into the hallway that their apartment is in. He comes to an abrupt halt when he sees a black-haired teenager leaning against Kakashi and his apartment’s door. Obito knows who that is, even if he’d like to pretend otherwise. 

For a split second Obito considers turning around and trying to get into the apartment from one of their windows instead. He knows it’s a stupid idea. The watching ANBU will be suspicious and also Sasuke is staring _right at him_. He sighs. All but dragging his feet towards the apartment door, Obito puts on a big, friendly smile.

“Hi,” he says as he juggles the bags to one hand and reaches for the apartment key in the pocket of his shorts.

Sasuke stares down at him with an inscrutable, but still clearly unhappy expression. Opening the door, he steps inside and says, “You can come in if you want.”

Obito kicks off his sandals and makes a beeline for the kitchen. Behind him, he can hear Sasuke also coming into the apartment and closing the door behind him. As Obito busies himself with putting away his and Kakashi’s groceries for the week, he does his best to ignore the other’s presence in the next room. It makes Obito more than a little bit nervous.

Both of them are personae non gratae in the village, but he’s pretty sure he still outranks Sasuke in that category by the simple fact he went a lot farther and caused much more trouble than this actual teenager. It’s a horrible thought, yet he can’t stop his mind from conjuring it. If Itachi were still alive, would he be more reviled than Sasuke or would Obito and his little brother both outrank him? It’s an awful ponderance and he shoves it away while he more than a little forcefully puts the jar of miso paste in the cupboard.

Kakashi’s on him all the time to not think strange, bad things like that. Yeah, Obito was a traitor and would have ended the world given the chance, but he isn’t anymore and he’s pledged himself to make up for all of it. To his old teammate, that’s what he should focus on. Not the hate and suspicion of people who are never going to matter to Obito feel for him. 

Obito does his best to do that, for his sake. Kakashi is a valuable and well-loved ninja. Obito matters to him for some (weird, unbelievable) reason and he knows the boy might just finally shatter if he lets others’ thoughts get to him and does something about it.

He can’t let that happen. If everyone who’s dead may have been willing to forgive him before, they’d never after that.

Obito closes the fridge door and realizes he’s done. There are no more groceries to put away and he has a guest who’s got to think he’s unbelievably rude at this point in the next room. Sighing to himself, he grabs the kettle from the stove and fills it at the sink before he puts it on the burner to warm up.

Walking into the next room, he’s not surprised to see that Sasuke is seated at the table, a little tense, and clearly annoyed.

“Sorry,” he says. “That took a bit longer than I expected."

Sasuke stares back at him a moment before he asks, “Where is Kakashi?”

Obito smirks. “Out,” he answers. “I think he might be seeing Kurenai or someone,” he answers. “He should be back soon for lunch.”

Sasuke’s eyes leave Obito’s face to land on the simple black-framed clock on the wall off to the side. “It’s eleven.”

“Yeah, we do lunch around eleven-thirty when we don’t do morning training,” he answers. He lifts a hand and wriggles it. “Kakashi’s on a forced break for a couple of days. He fell out of a tree yesterday and broke his wrist.”

Sasuke frowns. “Fell?”

Obito can’t help himself. He starts to snicker. How Kakashi hurt himself really isn’t funny at all. It’s Obito’s fault too. He was the one who surprise-attacked him while he was chakra-walking up a particularly tall specimen of a tree and wrecked his concentration to the point he lost control of his chakra. Even if it was Sai who caught Kakashi by the wrist as he plummeted toward the ground and actually broke it, Obito knows he deserves more blame for the injury. Even with Kakashi (and Sai, surprisingly) assuring him it was fine, Obito feels awful. It’s why he’s going to make Kakashi miso soup with eggplants for dinner.

However, he says nothing about that. The face Sasuke is making… It’s all Mikoto. Obito had really liked her back in the day. She’d been one of his favorite cousins, even when she looked at him like Sasuke is now with such disapproval. 

“What are you laughing at?” demands the teenager in a peeved voice that causes Obito to burst. Sasuke takes after his mother appearance-wise, but he sounds just like his dad. It’s such a strange feeling of both familiarity and ache that Obito has to hide his face in his hands a moment to make sure if he starts crying that Sasuke won’t see. 

When he’s in control of himself again, he says to the very clearly ticked off teenager, “You just look like your mom and sound like your dad.”

This seems to stun him a moment and Obito realizes that Sasuke probably isn’t compared to his family very often. There’s just not a lot of people around who remember them well enough or feel like they can say anything to the second to last Uchiha about the two. Luckily for Sasuke, he guesses, Obito has no trouble talking about the couple. “You probably don’t get told that a lot, huh?” he asks.

Looking down at his lap, Sasuke only gives a minute shake of his head. In the next room, the kettle begins to whistle. Obito hops to his feet. “I’ll get us some tea,” he says. He leaves the teenager alone for a moment.

As he prepares it, he hears the apartment door open. “Welcome home!” Obito shouts as he continues with his task at hand.

Kakashi calls back, “Thanks.” A moment later, he greets Sasuke. “Yo,” he says. “What’s brought you by?”

Sasuke murmurs something he doesn’t quite catch. Finished with preparing the tea, Obito puts it on the light-colored wood tray Kakashi keeps in one of his lower cupboards and carries it out into the next room. He serves first Sasuke and then Kakashi. He then sits back down and watches Kakashi and Sasuke discuss and pour over a scroll Sasuke appears to have brought into their apartment as he sips at his tea for a while. When he finishes his cup and Sasuke and Kakashi have emptied theirs, he refills the twos’ cups with the last of the tea and then takes away his cup and the pot to the kitchen. 

At that point, he decides to turn the leftover soba noodles from yesterday into a salad for them to eat for lunch. When he’s done, he brings it out and coaxes Kakashi and Sasuke to put the scroll away and eat. It’s a pretty quiet affair with a little talk of Sasuke’s old teammates and Sai. When they are done, Obito suggests (tells) Kakashi maybe he should go lie down and rest.

“It’ll help you’re healing if you rest a little more today,” he chides the boy when he starts to protest.

Kakashi, as he usually does, grumbles a little more, but he relents a lot easier to Obito’s pushing than typical and walks off to his bedroom for a nap.

It’s then that Sasuke gets up and says, “I think it’s time I go.”

Obito actually feels a little sorry to see him leave. “Oh,” he replies. “Okay.” Before Sasuke can see himself out, however, he grabs his larger hand in his own. “Hey,” he says. “I know I’m not much and probably not at all what you would have asked for, but…” he bites his lip. “I’m still family.” Staring up at Sasuke, he makes the teenager meet his gaze.

Sasuke looks completely uncomfortable, but not irritated or angry, so Obito decides he’s doing alright. He takes a breath. “I’m not gonna say I was super close with your mom and dad, but I knew them pretty well. Mikoto was actually friends with Kushina, Naruto’s mom.”

The teenager makes a little noise of surprise and Obito smiles. 

“Crazy, right?” he teases. Then, more seriously, he tells Sasuke, “Anyway, through that friendship and stuff I actually saw her kind of frequently and knew her sort of well since Minato-sensei and Kushina were a couple like the whole time I knew them.” He squeezes Sasuke’s hand. “I’ve got some stories if you ever want to hear them.”

After a moment the teenager nods. “Some time,” he agrees.

Obito lets Sasuke go. “Be safe,” he says.

“You too,” Sasuke mumbles before leaving Obito at the table and, then, the apartment altogether. Obito finally releases the breath he took in a while ago. That actually went pretty well. Maybe, someday, he and Sasuke will be family in more than name and blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Garota_Nerd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Garota_Nerd/pseuds/Garota_Nerd) thought an Uchiha feels chapter would be a good idea. I know you were hoping for them to talk about someone a little bit different, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter all the same. I thought it turned out pretty well.
> 
> Thank you for reading


	12. A New Friend

Hands in the pockets of his black pants, Kakashi keeps his face raised toward the sky. It isn’t sunny today, but it is still warm. The last of the summer’s heat trapped in the air until the clouds blow away. It is a perfect day to visit the Memorial Stone. Especially since Obito is at one of his mandated sessions with the therapist Tsunade assigned him to.

As he walks in the direction of the stone, someone, a child, calls from behind, “Hey!” 

Kakashi doesn’t pay it any mind. They are probably yelling out to a friend they have run into.

His opinion changes though when the sound of sandals on the dirt street reverberates in his direction. He pauses in his stride when the voice yells again, closer, “Hey!”

He turns around to see it is a brown-haired boy not far off from the typical academy-graduation age. He has freckles, but also markings on his cheeks that indicate he is a member of the Akimichi clan.

“Oh, you were talking to me?” asks Kakashi.

“Yeah!” says the boy, expression anxious as he nods his head in an exaggerated manner.

“What can I do for you?” he questions as he tips his head back to more squarely stare the boy in the eye.

Dark eyes wide, he scolds, “You really shouldn’t play with your mom or dad’s Hitai-ate!” One of his hands drifted to his backside. “My cousin did that once with my aunt’s and he couldn’t sit right for a week…”

Kakashi chuckles. It’s cute the kid is concerned, but there’s no need for him to be. “Thanks, but that’s not a problem for me,” he assures. Pointing his thumb at his headband he explains, “This is mine.”

The boy’s eyes double in size. “What?” he sputters. “No way!” he argues, crossing his thick arms across his belly. “You’re barely old enough for the Academy.”

The Academy age hasn’t changed terribly much since he attended, unlike the graduation age, but they don’t start teaching children until six now instead of five. “Not when I went there,” he says.

A confused furrow comes between the boy’s thin brows. “When did you go?” he asks.

Kakashi squints at the Akimichi boy. He’s too old for Kakashi to say something like last year. He’d probably remember seeing him around then. So, he decides to be vague, “A while ago.”

The boy frowns, clearly not buying Kakashi’s lie. Sneering, he declares, “If you’re really a ninja, you should be able to prove it.”

Kakashi feels his lips and eyes curve with an uncontrollable grin.“Is that so?”

“Yeah!”

Kakashi weighs the pros and cons of humoring the boy. If he does humor him, what will he do to “prove” himself? Kakashi decides summoning one of his ninken will likely appease the Akimichi boy. “I’m sure you’ve heard of summons?” he asks.

“Sure!” agrees the boy with a smile that’s a shade condescending. “Lots of cool ninjas have them.”

Kakashi nods. “Well, I have a contract with some,” he explains.

The boy gasps, clearly surprised that Kakashi is pushing forward. “Really?” he says with a lot of suspicion. At Kakashi’s patient nod, he steps forward and turns a little aggressive. “What kind!” he demands. Looking away, he scrubs a thoughtful hand over his chin as he remarks, “I saw a Nara summon a deer once.”

“Dogs,” answers Kakashi with curved eyes.

The kid doesn’t seem to be impressed at all, which mildly irks Kakashi. “Oh, well,” he says, clearly struggling not to sound disappointed. “Those are okay.”

He rolls his eyes. “Thanks.”

“Are you gonna summon one then?” demands the boy after a beat, looking a little more fierce and his disappointment clearly forgotten.

Kakashi puts a hand on one hip and sighs dramatically. “Mah, you’re a pushy kid.”

“I’m not pushy!” decries the Akimichi boy, hands balled at his side. “My mom says a good ninja should be suspicious until they’re given a reason to believe one way or another about something.”

Kakashi absorbs this. Then, he nods. It’s pretty sound advice. Especially when you’re encountering something unexpected on a mission. He says as much to the Akimichi boy, “That is often a good way to approach unknown situations.”

“Yeah!” agrees the boy, smiling broadly and causing his plump cheeks to dimple.

Kakashi chuckles. “All right then,” he says before he goes through the motions of summoning.

“Wow!” breathes the boy, leaning in with glittering brown eyes.

The dog he summoned, Pakkun, is staring up at Kakashi. “‘Sup Little Boss?” he greets.

He sighs and gives the summon a look. “Little?”

The dog snorts. “When I can ride on your shoulders I’ll drop the ‘Little’.”

“He’s funny,” says the Akimichi boy with clear approval in his tone.

“His name is Pakkun,” offers Kakashi.

The boy nods. “Cool!” he exclaims. Crouching close to the ground, he offers his hand to the pug. “Hi Pakkun, I’m Gorō.”

“Nice to meet ya, kid,” replies Kakashi’s summon, putting his tiny paw in Gorō’s pudgy hand.

They shake and Pakkun turns back around to face Kakashi. Head tilted to the side, he asks, “What did you need, Little Boss?”

Kakashi smiles at his friend. “Just to show Gorō here I am a chunin deserving of my Hitai-ate,” he explains.

The boy sputters anew and falls on his butt. “You’re a _chunin_!” he yells from the dirt street.

“Yes,” says Kakashi. Then, running a hand over his hair, he tells Gorō, “If you haven’t figured it out yet I’m a little… advanced.”

“A little!” he shouts with large eyes. “You gotta be crazy talented to be a chunin at _six_ —”

“—I’m seven,” cuts in Kakashi, frowning. 

“Yeah, okay,” the boy relents with a flap of his hand. Then, grinning as he got to his feet again, he laughed. “Wow, though! You could be a legend someday.”

He _is_ a legend. Or was he supposes. Kakashi exhales. “Yeah, someday,” he says.

“Hey, Little Boss, where’s Obito?” questions Pakkun, pawing at his bare knee.

Kakashi blinks. “That’s right,” he says. There's no time for a visit to the Memorial Stone anymore. Turning away from the Akimichi boy, he apologizes, “I’m sorry, Gorō, it was nice talking with you, but I have to meet my friend.” Waiting for Pakkun to come to his side, he tells Gorō, “He had an, er, appointment and I agreed to meet him after so we could get lunch.”

“Sure, that’s no problem,” says the boy with an unburdened smile. He waves at Kakashi and Pakkun as they start to stroll away. “See you! It was nice to meet you.” He raises his voice and calls after Kakashi’s back, “I know you probably have too much ninja stuff to do, but my friends and me like to play at the park after classes are over most days if you wanna ever come.”

Kakashi pauses in his stride. It’s a sweet offer. Though, one he doesn’t see himself seriously taking the boy up on ever. All the same, he looks over his shoulder and offers the boy a grin. “Thanks, Gorō.”

The boy giggles. “You’re welcome!”

When it’s just the two of them and they are halfway to the hospital, Pakkun looks up at Kakashi and says to him, “Aren’t you a little old be showing off us summons?”

He shrugs his shoulders. “Kids like dogs,” he replies. It’s a mostly true fact and while there were a lot of things he could have done to impress Gorō, Pakkun was easy.

“Uh-huh,” the summon returns.

He sighs and looks to his toes. “He’s old enough he might be a genin soon and I…” Kakashi bites his lip beneath his mask as he considers his next words. “I have been seven for three months tomorrow,” he whispers to Pakkun. Then, louder and with a little frustration, admits, “Obito needed to get new sandals last week because his feet grew. Tsunade says they’re doing everything to find a way to reverse this, but the longer this goes on, the more I feel it’s not going to be fixed.”

“Sorry, Little Boss,” says the summon as he rubs up against Kakashi’s leg. 

He shakes his head and refuses to let himself wallow in the possibility of having to grow up all over again. Instead, he explains, “We need to start acquainting ourselves with the generation we will likely be working the most with in the future.”

“Your skill levels aren’t that far off from your students,” comments Pakkun.

He nods and Kakashi does agree, but… “They aren’t on par either.”

“I guess you can’t ever have too many allies,” offers Pakkun after a minute.

Kakashi chuckles. “No, you really can’t.”

As they come up on the large, wood-paneled building that is the village’s hospital, Pakkun asks Kakashi, “D’you want me to go or…?”

“Stick around,” he replies. “Obito and I are going to eat and then train. You could watch or join in.”

“Eat, nap, _then_ train,” corrects the dog.

Kakashi frowns. “There won’t be a nap.”

The dog scoffs. “Oh really?”

He crosses his arms and relents a little. “Okay, sometimes we lay around first.” He huffs an exasperated breath of air and complains, “Somehow Obito got it in his head it’s not a good idea to train right after eating.”

Pakkun stares up at him like he’s stupid and Kakashi resists the urge to retaliate by tugging on one of the pug’s ears. “Little Boss, I know you don’t want to admit it to yourself, but Obito has been making you nap every day,” the summon tells him.

Kakashi goes stiff. That isn’t true, is it? “He… No. He hasn’t…? He _has_!”

In a show of sympathy, the dog pats his toes with one of his rough paws. “It’s not a big deal,” he assures a slowly deconstructing Kakashi. “I bet it’s been good for you. Pups need rest to grow.”

His summon’s delicate words do little to assuage the horror and annoyance washing over him. Kakashi isn’t unreasonable. Obito didn’t need to _trick_ him. He should have treated him like an equal and just _said_ Kakashi was better when he rests after lunch. “I’m going to make him sorry,” he declares. Pointing at his summon, he tells the pug, “You’re going to help.”

Pakkun sighs. “What are we going to do to Obito?”

“I have several ideas,” replies Kakashi, eyes curving in an impish manner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Ideas?
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	13. A Happy Birthday

The months pass with blinding speed. Obito continues to train a lot alone and with Kakashi. He also visits Kakashi’s students and their old contemporaries. Obito spends a lot of time seeing his therapist at the hospital and starts to see less ANBU guarding him as they, and the village, begin to trust him and believe he is not going to turn back into a monster and destroy them all.

His feet grew first, but then it’s his legs and arms too — All in time to replace his summer and autumn wardrobe with winter attire. Fellow shinobi and kunoichi begin to stop watching him every second he’s not inside his and Kakashi’s apartment about then too. Sometimes, they’ll even nod or smile at him when he goes out.

Konoha feels a little more like the home he knew as a kid just in time for the New Year. 

After they welcome in the new year, Kakashi is put back on the roster for missions outside of the village. At first, it’s nerve-wracking being alone in Konoha. It’s also during this time Obito starts to get visits from Tenzo and Gai when Kakashi is gone for more than a day or two. Once, when the week-long mission his old teammate is on doesn’t involve him, Sasuke stops by. 

It’s a good visit. Obito feeds Sasuke a spicy soup that is the specialty of their clan and tells him a story about Sasuke's mom and Kushina. In it, the two are just a couple of young kunoichi being silly and splashing each other in a river on a humid summer day while ostensibly teaching an eight-year-old Kakashi how to swim. (“He became a ninja when he was five. He didn’t have a lot of summers to play around in Konoha’s rivers and learn on his own.”) In return, Sasuke tells him a story about learning to tree-walk on his first mission out of the village.

He tries to laugh at it, but it comes out a little forced to Obito’s ears even if Sasuke doesn’t appear to notice. He can’t help but think from the story that, maybe, Team Sevens are just cursed with bad missions. Obito doesn’t tell Sasuke that and their visit ends with the teenager promising to come by again sometime. Obito is happy with that.

He is even happier when the next morning Kakashi opens their apartment door asking if he’s made enough breakfast for two.

Before he knows it, Obito is crossing out the eleventh of February on the dog calendar he bought for their apartment after the holidays. Today is his birthday. He doesn’t say anything to Kakashi as they put on jackets to go and train. His old teammate doesn’t appear to realize today is any different from those before it. Besides, Obito hadn’t made a fuss about Kakashi’s birthday back in October. Obito just cooked something he’d known Kakashi would like and asked him if becoming eight was better this time around over dinner.

His old teammate had answered in the affirmative and Obito left Kakashi’s birthday at that.

So when they come back to the apartment after a day of training, Obito is, to say the least, shocked when he opens the door to the apartment to find Kakashi’s genin team, Tenzo, and Sai standing there with a small handmade banner that reads “Happy Birthday!” in bright yellow letters.

He blinks as they yell, “Happy birthday!”

“What,” he says when he finds his voice again.

The group parts, revealing that on the dining room table is a cake with lit candles. He takes a few tentative steps forward to look more closely. It’s a simple, homemade cake with blue and orange frosting. Something tells him it is Naruto who made it.

At his shoulder, Kakashi asks, “Do you like it?”

“…Is this a birthday cake?” he questions after a moment.

Somewhere off to the side, he hears Sai snort. Naruto, meanwhile, comes up on Obito’s other side and slaps his back with a loud laugh. “With your name on it!” he proclaims proudly.

Looking over the small, gathered group, Obito says, “You threw me a _surprise party_?”

Kakashi sighs. “I thought you might like one,” he admits in a slightly dejected tone.

“It’s great!” assures Obito, reaching out and taking his old teammate’s hand in his fingers to give it a brief squeeze. He bites the inside of his cheek and debates internally for a moment if he should say anything. He grimaces. “I… I don’t think I’ve had a party ever,” he tells them.

From across the cake, Sakura asks, eyes wide with shock, “Not one?”

Obito swallows a lump in his throat and grins. “I celebrated other ways,” he answers.

“Come on, come over so we can sing you Happy Birthday,” urges Naruto, nudging him forward to sit down in front of the cake. He complies and smiles quietly as they all sing for him — Even Kakashi.

When they finish, Sakura urges, “Make a wish!”

Obito closes his eyes and blows out the candles. He wishes for nothing. This is more than he could have ever hoped for.

“Awesome!” shouts Naruto, reaching for the knife next to the cake and a plate from the small stack on the table. “Let’s eat!”

“No!” snaps Sakura, grabbing Naruto’s wrist. “Stop it, you knucklehead,” she chides. Offering a small smile to Obito, she says in a sweet voice, “The birthday boy gets to cut himself a piece first.”

“Aw,” pouts Naruto, slinking back.

He blinks and can’t help but glance over at Sasuke, who nods. “Er, right,” he agrees. “How many slices should I cut?” he questions. “Kakashi, you don’t want any, right?”

“What?” sputters Sakura. “Of course he does!” 

Obito frowns. “But he doesn't like—”

“A small piece is fine, Obito,” breaks in Kakashi, eyes curving with a smile. “It’s for your birthday.”

He returns the smile. “Okay.”

-O-

A couple of hours later, it is just Obito and Kakashi alone in the apartment again. As Obito washes one of the plates they used and Kakashi dries another next to him, his old teammate asks with a surprising amount of hesitancy, “That was all right, wasn’t it?”

Obito pauses in washing and just lets the clean water from the tap run over the plate between his fingers. “What?” he says.

“The party,” replies Kakashi, lower lip protruding slightly behind his mask.

He rolls his eyes and finishes cleaning the plate. “Yeah, Kakashi,” answers Obito as he hands the plate off to be dried by Kakashi.

Instead of enveloping the plate in the red-checkered dishcloth in his other hand, Kakashi stares at the dripping plate. “It’s just… I don’t remember ever celebrating your birthday before,” he admits.

Obito bumps into his friend lightly, drawing his gaze. He smiles at the boy. It’s kind of cute that Kakashi is fretting all of a sudden. Especially since Obito hadn’t really gone out of his way to celebrate Kakashi’s birthday either when they were teammates (or now). “I did, don’t worry,” he tells him.

Kakashi narrows his eyes. “…With Rin?” he asks in a quiet murmur.

Obito, who’s mostly in control of his tears these days, stops them before they can even sting the back of his eyes. “Yeah, with Rin,” he agrees.

Kakashi bows his head. “I never wanted to kill her.”

Obito clenches his jaw and refuses to let the tears gathering in his eyes fall. Thinking about that day is always one of the fastest ways to make him cry. He knows now (he always did, even if he didn’t want to believe it), Kakashi hadn’t meant to murder their teammate. Rin had made him. “I know you didn’t,” he tells Kakashi, voice thick.

His friend looks up at Obito with a pair of eyes that are swimming with their own unshed tears. “If there was any way I could make it for her to be here instead of me, I would,” Kakashi tells him with a fierce honesty that makes Obito’s stomach roll. 

He grabs Kakashi by the shoulders. “Don’t say that,” he growls.

The boy blinks at him, uncomprehending. “Why?”

Obito strengthens his hold on Kakashi’s small, narrow shoulders. They do nothing to buck his surely painful grip and his heart hurts. “I miss Rin, yeah. But Kakashi,” he pauses to lick his lips as he feels Kakashi stop breathing beneath his palms. Leaning down, he presses his lips against the naked skin between Kakashi’s brows. “I’m glad you’re here,” he whispers.

“You are?” utters Kakashi in a choked voice.

He nods and pulls the boy against his chest to hug him. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Thanks, Obito,” replies Kakashi, voice muffled by Obito’s sweater.

He squeezes him tighter. “No problem, Baka-Kashi.”

Before, Obito didn't think there was anything he could possibly wish for. Now, though, he knows he's wrong. If Obito could have anything in the world, it would be this:

For things to stay like they are now. Obito wants to stand at Kakashi's side. For him and Kakashi to continue to be teammates and friends and more. It may be a selfish wish because ninjas are tools of their villages, but he never wants to lose Kakashi, or for Kakashi to lose Obito again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can always write more, but this feels like a kind of nice "end" too. I don't know if I'll mark this complete later, but I think unofficially I'm content with calling this fic completed. 
> 
> Your thoughts everyone?
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I have also written [_You are The Dawn of A New Day That's Waking ___](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27539008/chapters/67350280) _ _. The summary is:__  
> 
>
>> A stunt on Kakashi’s part lands him a little over two decades in the past when he was six-years-old and a freshly promoted Chunin. Instead of keeping his memories of the future to himself and trying to change the world on his own, he decides to share this turn of events with his sensei.


End file.
